Real Madrid needs another comeback for the ages to advance in the Champions League
Sports
The record 15-time European champions are staring at a 3-0 deficit to Arsenal
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid, a team known and feared for producing epic Champions League comebacks, needs to deliver its biggest one yet to keep its title defense alive on Wednesday.
The record 15-time European champions are staring at a 3-0 deficit to Arsenal heading into the second leg of the quarterfinals at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
A semifinal matchup with Paris Saint-Germain awaits the winner and Arsenal is the big favorite to advance, mainly thanks to a pair of stunning direct free kicks from Declan Rice in the first leg in London last week.
Only four times has a home team erased a first-leg deficit of three goals or more in the Champions League era, according to UEFA.
Never count out Madrid, though. Especially in a competition the Spanish club has made its own.
It was in the atmospheric Bernabeu that Madrid scored goals in the 90th and 91st minutes — both by Rodrygo — to force extra time before completing an extraordinary come-from-behind win over Manchester City in the Champions League semifinals in 2022. In that same season, Madrid had already fought back from a first-leg deficit to oust PSG in the round of 16 and scored two late goals at home to see off Chelsea in the quarterfinals.
